The term Witch comes from Witchcraft, that is, someone who practices magical skills spells, and has special abilities. While this may sound in part something blissful, they didn’t think like that in ancient times, since it was more closely associated with curses like the "evil eye" or pacts with Satan. Witchcraft has always been condemned and feared by the majority of the population since the Catholic Church condemned death to those who practiced witchcraft.

The Three Witches From Macbeth By William Shakespeare. Painting by Richard Westall — *The Three Witches From Macbeth By William Shakespeare*. Painting by Richard Westall

In the year 481 AD, witches began to be persecuted and imprisoned. Although witches were considered to be both men and women, witchcraft trials were almost exclusively against women, about 78% of them.

Parallel to these persecutions, a whole literature of inquisition was developed, about two thousand writings denouncing the evil powers of witches. But it was in 1326, after a decree from Pope John XXII was published, that an exacerbated persecution of witches began and lasted for about four centuries.

The Catholic Church was one of the culprits of the well-known "Witch Hunts" in particular the Inquisition since it was in charge of publishing the most important treatise related to this called Malleus Maleficarum in 1484. This treatise consisted of three parts and detailed how the Devil and his followers perpetrated a plethora of evils" without the Almighty God's permission". It also details the methods of detecting, prosecuting, or destroying witches and showing torture in the detection of witches as something normal.

Between February 1692 and May 1693 one of the most notorious "Witch Hunts" took place in a small village of Salem, Massachusetts (now known as Danvers), where more than 150 people were tried for alleged witchcraft: The Salem’s Trials.
But what was the real story behind all these trials and why did these events cause hysteria in the New World?

SALEM VILLAGE

Salem was founded by some English puritans in 1628, after being driven out of England by the Catholics. They settled in Massachusetts hoping to be free from persecution. The population grew rapidly up to 1,400 with the arrival of new immigrants, forming several communities among the Salem Village, where the dramatic events would occur later.
Salem had to survive many clashes with France, epidemics such as smallpox as well as continuous fights with the native American tribes. All of this caused the citizens to be overly sensitive to stressful situations and later exacerbated the situation regarding the witch trials.

FIRST FACTS

Tituba, a South American native was the first to be convicted. At that time, she was the servant of the minister of Salem, Samuel Parris, and the nanny of his daughters and nieces. To entertain the girls she used to tell them stories of her childhood and magic tricks.
In February 1692, two of the girls, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams began to act strangely, they dragged their feet on the floor, spoke an unknown language, and even had convulsions. When the doctor assured the villagers that they were acting under a supernatural influence; the girls blamed the maid as the culprit.

““The Devil came to look for me and ask me to serve him: A man dressed in black with white hair offered me gifts in exchange for serving him for 7 years. This stranger opened a book where I had to sign with my blood, and where I also saw the signatures of other witches living in Salem.” ”

— TITUBA

Following Tituba, the accusations would be joined by Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. Women that the whole town considered as outcasts. All three were imprisoned in horrible conditions because the condition of both Betty Parris and Abigail Williams didn't improve. At the same time, more girls and older women seemed to be possessed.
In March, four more accusations took place, amongst these accusations one of the most beloved women of Salem was also accused.

At that point, no one was safe or immune to the accusations, not even the ministers or politicians.

The trials began on June 2, 1692, where many of the accused were sentenced to death and hung at Gallows Hill. This brought about a total panic.

WITCH “TESTS”

There were a high number of tests to prove whether witches were really witches, most were nonsensical and mostly manipulated.

The witches were asked to pronounce the word "God." Real witches would not be able to pronounce it correctly.
The Witch Hunters tied one of the accused’s fingers to a toe of the opposite foot and then dropped them in water. If they floated they were a witch however this resulted in the drowning of most suspects.
The witch had to prepare a flower cake and feed it to a dog. If the dog showed the same symptoms as the possessed, it was proof of a spell.
They believed that dogs had a direct connection with the devil or were the devil himself. One girl accused the neighbor's dog of bewitching her, so most of the time, dogs were executed.
A mark on the witch's skin: it was believed that the devil made a mark on the witch's skin and they tried to find those marks. Most of the time they were lesions from an illness, wounds, or a birthmark.
When the possessed were suffering convulsions, the witch would have to touch them, if they stopped suffering the convulsions, it was proof of being a witch.

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes - Witches' Sabbath

All defendants went through cruel torturing and most of them gave false confessions when they could not take it anymore. This happened to Tituba for example, who confessed to being a witch, in order to end her enslavement.

At this point, anger and frustration began to spread amongst the town. Neighbors began to judge each other, forcing many of the citizens to decide to escape to New York.

In total 150 people were imprisoned, 19 were hung, Giles Corey was crushed to death with huge stones because he refused to testify against his wife, four died in prison in horrible conditions and the rest escaped during and after the trials were abolished.

THE CAUSES

The story of Salem may seem anodyne compared to other great European persecutions, but in the Anglo-Saxon world, whose trials were much more moderate, these events were exceptional.

Many researchers are still trying to understand the causes of this mass hysteria.

Some point to the tension that already existed in the town of Salem due to the circumstances of their survival and exile from England.

Others denounce the girls who started the accusations since they held a lot of power. Many of them suffered from psychological issues fostered by a stressful environment and they took these accusations to be a mere game.

The most interesting theory is that of rye contamination in the village. A fungus developed in the cereal, containing a substance derived from LSD that when ingested, has the property to cause hallucinations, convulsions, abdominal pain, and blackening of the extremities. Such effects would lead the people to believe in the existence of witchcraft.

Tree On Gallows Hill In Salem, Massachusetts Tree standing in open area known as Gallows Hill, which was believed to be the location where several townspeople found guilty of witchcraft and were hanged to death, in Salem, 1949. — Tree On Gallows Hill In Salem, Massachusetts
Tree standing in open area known as Gallows Hill, which was believed to be the location where several townspeople found guilty of witchcraft and were hanged to death, in Salem, 1949.

CURIOSITIES

No one knows where the witches were buried since they were not Catholics and were not given tombstones.
The Salem witches were not burned at the stake as many illustrations show, all the people executed were hanged or crushed to death.
All the executed were hanged in “Gallows Hill”, a place high enough to be seen by the whole village.
Many of the Salem citizens began to speak of apparitions, claiming that many of the accused appeared before them and beat them with a "cane". One of the accused, Georges Jacob, was executed because many neighbours said that he had appeared to them.
The witch hunters went door to door and asked citizens if they had anyone they wanted to accuse. This added fuel to the fire.
The Puritans are considered as the ones mainly responsible for the accusations however it is in fact the local magistrates (civil officers, law graduated) who pushed harder for the persecution of said witches.

All the accusations had no real proof, and when the Puritan priests began to oppose more and more the methods applied by the magistrates, more tangible evidence was required to judge the accused. When more people joined and took notice, the trials lost credibility, the hysteria died down and many of the accused were released.

For 20 years, the parties responsible for the trials have seeked forgiveness and offered financial compensation to the families of those affected, however, it is still impossible to erase this dark and shameful part of America’s colonial past.

The Salem witch trials highlight the danger of condemning people through a mob mentality, it is similar to the cancel culture in today’s society. How someone can have their public image destroyed without a proper trial or evidence collected.

If you are interested in the Salem Witches Story, here are some Movie recommendations you should not miss:

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SALEM’S ‘WITCHES’ - The Real Story Behind Folktales

In the year 481 AD, witches began to be persecuted and imprisoned. Although witches were considered to be both men and women, witchcraft trials were almost exclusively against women, about 78% of them.

SALEM VILLAGE

FIRST FACTS

At that point, no one was safe or immune to the accusations, not even the ministers or politicians.

The trials began on June 2, 1692, where many of the accused were sentenced to death and hung at Gallows Hill. This brought about a total panic.

WITCH “TESTS”

There were a high number of tests to prove whether witches were really witches, most were nonsensical and mostly manipulated.

The witches were asked to pronounce the word "God." Real witches would not be able to pronounce it correctly.

The Witch Hunters tied one of the accused’s fingers to a toe of the opposite foot and then dropped them in water. If they floated they were a witch however this resulted in the drowning of most suspects.

The witch had to prepare a flower cake and feed it to a dog. If the dog showed the same symptoms as the possessed, it was proof of a spell.

They believed that dogs had a direct connection with the devil or were the devil himself. One girl accused the neighbor's dog of bewitching her, so most of the time, dogs were executed.

A mark on the witch's skin: it was believed that the devil made a mark on the witch's skin and they tried to find those marks. Most of the time they were lesions from an illness, wounds, or a birthmark.

When the possessed were suffering convulsions, the witch would have to touch them, if they stopped suffering the convulsions, it was proof of being a witch.

In total 150 people were imprisoned, 19 were hung, Giles Corey was crushed to death with huge stones because he refused to testify against his wife, four died in prison in horrible conditions and the rest escaped during and after the trials were abolished.

THE CAUSES

The story of Salem may seem anodyne compared to other great European persecutions, but in the Anglo-Saxon world, whose trials were much more moderate, these events were exceptional.

Many researchers are still trying to understand the causes of this mass hysteria.

CURIOSITIES

No one knows where the witches were buried since they were not Catholics and were not given tombstones.

The Salem witches were not burned at the stake as many illustrations show, all the people executed were hanged or crushed to death.

All the executed were hanged in “Gallows Hill”, a place high enough to be seen by the whole village.

Many of the Salem citizens began to speak of apparitions, claiming that many of the accused appeared before them and beat them with a "cane". One of the accused, Georges Jacob, was executed because many neighbours said that he had appeared to them.

The witch hunters went door to door and asked citizens if they had anyone they wanted to accuse. This added fuel to the fire.

The Puritans are considered as the ones mainly responsible for the accusations however it is in fact the local magistrates (civil officers, law graduated) who pushed harder for the persecution of said witches.

For 20 years, the parties responsible for the trials have seeked forgiveness and offered financial compensation to the families of those affected, however, it is still impossible to erase this dark and shameful part of America’s colonial past.

The Salem witch trials highlight the danger of condemning people through a mob mentality, it is similar to the cancel culture in today’s society. How someone can have their public image destroyed without a proper trial or evidence collected.

If you are interested in the Salem Witches Story, here are some Movie recommendations you should not miss:

THE LORD OF SALEM - Rob Zombie (2012)

THE CRUCIBLE - Nicholas Hytner (1996)

HOCUS POCUS - Kenny Ortega (1993)

SALEM (TV Serie) - Brannon Braga, Adam Simon (2014)

MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM (TV Show) - Eliot Lawrence (2020)

PARANORMAN - Chris Butler, Sam Fell (2012)